US Department of State Daily Press Briefing #76:
Tuesday, 5/7/91
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: 12:44 PM, Washington, DC
Date: May 7, 19915/7/91
Category: Briefings
Region: MidEast/North Africa
Country: Iraq, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Iran, Israel, Turkey,
Czechoslovakia (former), Yugoslavia (former), Lebanon,
USSR (former)
Subject: Regional/Civil Unrest, Development/Relief Aid,
Refugees, Trade/Economics, Democratization,
State Department, Security Assistance and Sales,
Science/Technology
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It's a pleasure to be here. (Laughter) Let me start off a little --
Q If you lie about that, you'd lie about anything.
(Laughter)
MR. BOUCHER: What a good time we have with each other.
[Iraq: Update on Refugees]
I thought I'd start off giving you the highlights of things
that I noticed in our update on the refugee situation. It seems to
have changed. I'll give you some more information on things you've
asked about before. We'll try to pull up the full rundown for you
and put it up after the briefing.
One of the things we talked yesterday about was the
movement of people out of the refugee camps back to their homes.
In order to facilitate this movement of refugees back to their
homes, the combined task force has established way stations along
main routes from the camps. The way stations supply water, food,
medical aid, automobile fuel, tow ropes, and auto repair items.
As of May 6, ten way stations had been established. I have
the names of the 10 places that they're at but I'm not going to try
to pronounce them.
The question of cholera has been discussed. Medical
personnel working in the camps on the Turkey-Iraq border continue
to report that cholera has not become a major problem. However,
the presence of cholera bacteria has been identified at the camp at
Cukurca which has a population of 120,000 people. A hundred and
thirty refugees have been isolated from the rest of the population
and are being treated for cholera systems with intravenous fluids,
antibiotics and oral rehydration. Family members are also being
screened and treated as required.
We also have a measles vaccination program.
Vaccinations are being conducted at several of the camps along
the Turkey-Iraq border and in the temporary relief village at
Zakhu. As of May 6, over 3,500 children had been immunized for
measles. This week, the immunization program will be extened to
other camps, and we expect that nearly 92,000 children will be
immunized under the program.
Yesterday, I was asked if we had information on
refugees leaving the Iraq-Iran border to head home. We have
some reports from the International Commission of the Red Cross
that thousands of Iraqi refugees who fled to Iran have begun to
return to Iraq. They report that the return appears to be well
organized. But other than saying that thousands are involved, I
don't have any specific information for you concerning the
actual numbers of people.
Q The numbers that you gave yesterday of the
refugees coming back from the Turkish border area and the number
that still remain differ quite sharply from what the General was
briefing in the area itself. He said that as many as 440,000
still were in the border area, inside Turkey and just inside
Iraq. Your numbers were much lower than that. Can you account
for the discrepancy?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I can't. Maybe there's some
definition of what we mean by the "near border area." Before
coming in here, I saw some Defense Department numbers that were
in the 335,000 range. I think I've used 320.
Q You expressed concern --
MR. BOUCHER: We're in a situation now where a lot of
people are moving, and it's much more difficult, I think, to
give you precise numbers. There are a lot of people in camps
that are being cared for. Of course, those are the easiest to
count. The rest of the populations on the move tend to be
estimates at this point.
Q You also expressed concern that the movement was
not nearly fast enough and that they were trying to find ways to
accelerate it with the on-coming summer season. Is that your
characterization of "not nearly fast enough?"
MR. BOUCHER: I'm aware of the concerns about the
summer season, particularly the problem that water sources in
the mountains might dry up. So this whole effort at
establishing centers, whether the camp in Turkey or the station
at Zakhu or way stations along the way in Iraq, is directed at
getting people out of the extreme hardship of the mountain
regions to places where they can more easily get assistance.
Q Do we have an idea of how many of these people who
are returning are returning to places outside the area occupied
by allied troops?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.
Q Are there substantial numbers going outside?
MR. BOUCHER: I just don't know, Saul.
Q Kurdistan extends well beyond --
MR. BOUCHER: I asked about that. I really just don't
have that information at this point.
Q Some Kurdish leaders have asked for military
protection in Dohuk before they move back there. Has there been
any kind of decision to extend that security?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, the situation around Dohuk
remains where it was yesterday. Dohuk is not now located within
the security area and multinational forces are not operating
within the city of Dohuk.
Q Do we plan to change that?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, anything is possible, but
this is where we are right now.
Q What about the status of Iraqi forces in and
around Dohuk? Have they essentially cleared out of there now?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have a precise update on that. I
think I saw further reports that said that there were forces
withdrawing, but I don't know if they're gone.
Q Do you have a better handle on how far the
coalition forces plan to go in protecting areas in the north?
You sort of have been asked this question everyday and everyday
the State Department does not have an answer. Is this still the
case?
MR. BOUCHER: Everyday, John, I think the answer is
what it has been. And that is that we are undertaking an effort
that provides assistance to people where they are and where they
need the assistance. We've been reporting to you everyday on
camps that have been set up, on new ways of delivering relief to
people. I'm telling you today about 10 different way stations
that have been set up to serve the populations that are on the
move, the people that are looking for help as they try to go
home. That's what our effort is devoted to.
So I can't tell you how much this will eventually lead
to, because it will be based on the needs of the refugees and
where the refugees are and what they need in terms of where they
want to go.
Q Or how long American forces, or coalition forces,
will have to stay occupying a section of northern Iraq. You
have no idea of how many --
MR. BOUCHER: Again, that's not something I can give
you a precise estimate on. It's based on, first of all, the
needs of the refugees; and second of all, the ability of the
United Nations to take over the operation. We have said that
our presence is temporary, and I'd just have to stick to that.
Q Well, the situation on the ground seems to run
pretty far ahead of what you're able to willing to say. For
example, on the question of Dohuk, the understanding on the
ground is that they are going to move in there. It's a matter
of time.
MR. BOUCHER: Bill, I'm not about to announce things
until they're decided. It's something that's being discussed.
It's obviously in the air -- something that people are looking
at -- but I don't have a decision to announce for you.
Q Richard, from what you said -- if that's the
philosophy that we go where the need is -- if, therefore, the
refugees go beyond Dohuk or elsewhere in Kurdistan, do we intend
to follow?
MR. BOUCHER: That would be pure speculation on my part
to start making predictions like that. I just told Bill I
wasn't going to go beyond what we've done. We're dealing with
people where they are. We're delivering the assistance where
they are. I'm not going to make predictions.
Q But we're not, as a matter of policy, going to
deal with people where they might wish to go?
MR. BOUCHER: Saul, it depends on the needs of the
refugees and where we can best deliver the assistance. There
are a whole variety of things done to bring assistance to these
people, whether it's the Iranians working on their side of the
border or the Turks, us and others working on the Turkish side
of the border, the U.N. working throughout Iraq based on their
agreements with Baghdad. The important thing is that people get
the assistance they need.
Q But there's a difference between what's happening
on the Iranian side and what's happening on the Turkish side.
We're providing military protection. On the Iranian side,
they're providing aid, comfort. We're providing military
protection which is something different. I want to find out how
far the military protection is going to extend geographically.
Will it extend as far as -- is the philosophy to follow the
Kurds where they go and where they need the military protection?
We're talking about military protection. I'm not talking about
(inaudible) and blankets and food.
MR. BOUCHER: Saul, I'm not going to make predictions.
I'm not going to speculate on what's going to have to happen to
take care of these people next.
Q Richard, yesterday, you talked about the blankets
shipped to Iran. I wonder if your statement from this podium
had any effect on the second shipment, whether there's any
development you can tell us about?
MR. BOUCHER: There is nothing new on that. We
continue to provide the assistance to the international
organizations that are operating in Iran. But we don't have
anything new for you on a second flight.
Q Was there any response to what you said here
yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I'm aware of. The Iranians
haven't asked us to take back the blankets or anything like
that.
Q Richard, in addition to way stations, do you have
anything on reported plans to evacuate many people from the
Iraqi-Turkish border with a variety of kinds of transportation,
including helicopters?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't quite know what you're asking
about because this is something that has been going on. We've
been providing transportation down to Zakhu. The first step, I
think, was the new camp that the Turks were setting up where we
provided transportation in a variety of forms to people to get
off the mountainside and go down to these more stable locations
where we could deliver the services better.
Q There was a story from the region this morning
that a much bigger effort could get underway within a week?
MR. BOUCHER: I didn't see the story so I'm afraid I
don't know exactly what we're commenting on. But that kind of
thing is something that we have been doing.
Q Do you have any report about the U.S. and world
private organizations which are helping the Iraqi people inside
Iraq with humanitarian relief? Do you have a rundown on these
organizations or groups?
MR. BOUCHER: You mean the list of the private
organizations that are involved?
Q Yes.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have such a list with me. I 'll
see if we can get something. We've been working with a lot of
organizations.
Q New topic?
Q Can I stay on this for just a second? Back to the
Iranian blankets. Can you just tell us what the status is of
U.S. contacts with the Government of Iran? Is this all still
being done through a third party -- even the contacts on the
humanitarian assistance?
MR. BOUCHER: That's right.
Q There have been no direct U.S.-Iranian contacts?
MR. BOUCHER: The only direct U.S.-Iranian contacts we
have are in the context of The Hague talks.
Q Any additional flights planned?
Q Are they continuing, by the way?
MR. BOUCHER: When did we last -- the end of March, we
last had a team out there to talk about it. I haven't heard of
anything since then. I'll check to make sure that's right.
Q Any additional --
[Turkish Relief Efforts]
Q The Kurdish refugees: Do you have any reaction to
the decision of the Turkish government to expel a British
journalist? And also on the growing criticism by the Western
media and the mistreatment of the refugees by the Turkish
military?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have anything specific on the
journalist. I think overall, on the question of Turkey, I think
we've seen from the beginning that they've assumed a pre-eminent
role in assisting the displaced Iraqis fleeing Saddam's
repression. The Turkish government, military, and Red Crescent
Society were already assisting these people before the
international assistance started materializing.
In many instances, assistance in this poorest region of
Turkey was provided by villagers who had very little themselves.
Turkey has been one of the largest donors to the displaced
Iraqis at a cost of over $90 million for the month of April
alone, we are told.
In addition, the Turks have moved 40,000 to 60,000 of
the most vulnerable people to the Turkish-built camp near
Silopi. We think that Turkey is cooperating fully with the
United States, U.N. agencies, and private voluntary
organizations in the intensive relief effort now underway.
Q Just one more clarification. You said that how
long the coalition forces stay in northern Iraq and what they
do, how far they go, is based on the needs of the refugees,
among other things. That sounds to me like the needs of the
refugees are to get all Iraqi forces out of the entire northern
part of the region where they have been living. It seems
somewhat inconsistent to say that the needs of the refugees are
guiding how long and how far we go?
MR. BOUCHER: John, I was referring to the needs of the
refugees in terms of how best to deliver the assistance to them.
That is something that we are doing. There are many other
organizations involved. I think you've heard us speak many
times about wanting the U.N. to take over as quickly as
possible. We've said many times that our presence there is
temporary in view of establishing these programs so that we can
then turn them over to the U.N.
Q Richard, new subject.
Q The same subject. Any additional flights planned
to Iran by the United States?
MR. BOUCHER: I think I just answered that a few
minutes ago and said that there's nothing new on that.
Q Have they requested any?
MR. BOUCHER: I think we've reported in the last few
days about how we were discussing the possibility; that there
were some details under discussion. I don't have anything new
for you on that.
Q Has the United States and the Soviet Union settled
their final differences on CFE?
MR. BOUCHER: Let me check and get you something on
that. I think there was a Tass item just before I came in here
about a meeting that (Jack) Matlock had with the Soviets. I
don't have a readout of that, so I want to check before I try to
answer the question.
[USSR: Shevardnadze Meeting]
Q Another question -- sort of Soviet-related. Can
you give us a readout at all of Shevardnadze's meeting with the
Secretary yesterday? Specifically, whether Secretary Baker may
have been persuaded by Shevardnadze's arguments on credits, and
whether or not the State Department had any reaction to
Shevardnadze's suggestion that there might be international
sanctions against parties in the Middle East who don't
negotiate?
MR. BOUCHER: Let me handle the first part of the
question: "Can you give us any readout at all?" That's one I
can deal with. Yes, the Secretary and Shevardnadze talked for
about 2 hours yesterday. They discussed the Middle East; they
discussed arms control; they discussed food credits.
Shevardnadze also provided a rather extensive briefing
on the internal situation in the Soviet Union.
As for the specific issue of the food credits, I think
you remember the President discussed this last week. But at
present, the request remains under review.
Q Can you tell us, though, what the Secretary's
position on this is?
MR. BOUCHER: No.
Q Richard, you said they discussed the Middle East
and arms control. Did they discuss arms control in the Middle
East?
MR. BOUCHER: I really don't know.
Q What about the second -- the sanctions?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any answer on that. I just
don't know. I'm sorry.
Q (Inaudible)
MR. BOUCHER: I'll see if we --
Q Can we attempt to get an answer on it?
Q Is it the State Department's view that Mr.
Shevardnadze's briefing on, or discussion of Middle East and
arms control issues is, shall we say, at the forefront or right
at the cutting edge of where developments stand in the Soviet
Union? Is it the U.S. position that he is fully briefed on the
status of those discussions?
MR. BOUCHER: I really can't give you a U.S. position
on that. You can ask him if he's fully briefed. I think he did
have on the Middle East -- he talked to Bessmertnykh and knew
pretty much where we were based on the Secretary's briefings for
Bessmertnykh and the meetings with him.
As for the other issues, I don't know what sort of
brief he had. But we've always said that we thought his views
were interesting and needed to be taken into account.
Q That's why I was asking, as to whether you were
essentially seeking his views or whether these views, that he is
expressing, whether the U.S. considers his views to be in some
way reflective of those of the Soviet Union's government?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I can go beyond saying that
he's obviously well informed and we're interested in his views.
[Middle East Peace Process]
Q Do you have anything on when the Secretary will
meet with Bessmertnykh? The Egyptians are saying it will be in
Cairo on Sunday?
MR. BOUCHER: No. We're still working on the schedule.
The meeting with Bessmertnykh is something that I don't have
anymore details for you on today.
Q Do you have anymore details on the schedule, in
general?
MR. BOUCHER: The first two stops will be Dasmascus and
Cairo. Again, he's leaving late Friday. They'll go to
Dasmascus first. They expect a meeting with President Assad on
Sunday. Sunday, he will travel onto Cairo. In Cairo on Monday,
he would meet with President Mubarak.
That's about where I stop in terms of giving you
specifics. We said yesterday he would also be going to Israel
and Jordan. Of course, we always reserve the right to change
the schedule, add stops, make modifications in anything we've
just told you because we're still working on the schedule with
the governments involved.
Q Still on the Soviet Union. Do you have anything
on the reports about the second radar position being build to
replace the one at Krasnoyarsk?
MR. BOUCHER: The anti-ballistic missile treaty, the
ABM Treaty, allows large phased-array radars, know as LPARS, on
the periphery of a country and oriented outward.
At this point, I can't tell you whether this other
radar would constitute one under the treaty. It depends on when
-- how it's built, what it's configurations are.
The Soviet Union, of course, admitted in 1989 that the
radar located near Krasnoyarsk is in violation of the ABM
Treaty, and they have agreed to dismantle it and they're in the
process of doing so.
Q Richard, are you concerned about the construction
of this radar? Has it been discussed? Was it raised in
Matlock's meeting today?
MR. BOUCHER: I told you I don't have a readout of
Matlock's meeting today, so that's a question I obviously don't
have an answer to. We are well aware of the requirements of the
ABM Treaty. We have a body called the Standing Consultative
Commission that meets regularly to discuss ABM compliance
issues. We'll of course be following any developments in this
area, and, if we have concerns, we'll raise them with the
Soviets through that appropriate body.
Q But you can't say now that you have a concern?
You're just sort of reporting the facts.
MR. BOUCHER: I can't give you a definitive reading on
how this radar fits against the treaty.
Q Richard, certainly you can tell us, though,
whether by virtue of location it is a violation or some problem?
I mean, the treaty is very clear on that point.
MR. BOUCHER: The treaty is very clear. It's both the
question of the location on the periphery of the country and
oriented outward.
Q What are you saying? You have no problem --
MR. BOUCHER: So it depends on the location and the
orientation of the radar.
Q And you're saying you have no problem with the
location, but you can't say that perhaps some other
characteristics --
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not trying to define it one way or
the other at this point. I just can't.
Q Just to clarify, you said that you weren't able to
report on Matlock's meeting. Has this issue been raised --
discussed with the Soviets at all at any level in recent weeks?
MR. BOUCHER: It depends what you call "this issue." I
mean Krasnoyarsk has certainly been discussed repeatedly, and
the whole issue of radars and what is permitted --
Q Construction of a new radar. Has the question of
the construction of a new radar in the Soviet Union --
MR. BOUCHER: The Komsomol Radar. I'll have to look at
that and see if that specifically has come up.
Q The question is whether the U.S. has requested
information about Soviet plans for orienting the radar when it's
constructed. That's the question.
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to ask.
Q Richard, now that Ambassador Armitage is back, has
a decision been made whether to continue the base talks with the
Philippines?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't really have anything new on that
since the statement that was issued at the end of Armitage's
last discussions.
Q And he was coming back for consultations. Have
those consultations taken place?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to check on that, Jim. I don't
know.
[Czechoslovakia: Arms Sales]
Q Richard, is there anything new on the
Czechoslovak arms sales to Syria?
MR. BOUCHER: In March and April, Ambassador Black made
demarches to Czechoslovak authorities in Prague, asking that
Czechoslovakia not sell arms to Iran and Syria. Ambassador
Black repeated that message in a meeting at the Czechoslovak
Foreign Ministry yesterday.
Q (Inaudible) -- in that meeting.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know, Ralph, what their response
was in that meeting. I think they're being quoted on the wires
as saying they haven't made a final decision.
Q A follow-up, please. Has this been raised with
the Syrian authorities?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.
Q Do you expect it to be raised during the talks
with Secretary Baker?
MR. BOUCHER: I really don't know.
Q According to one report I read, we're making
objection because we've suggested to them that we do not sell
arms to "terrorist states." Are we making the objections on the
selling of arms to the Middle East or the selling of arms to
Syria and Iran? Do you know?
MR. BOUCHER: We do not sell arms to terrorist states
because of legislation and policy. We are conveying those same
concerns about these kinds of sales to them.
Q But, you know, they may have a different view of
what is or is not a terrorist state, and I don't know that they
have a list of terrorist states.
But are we objecting to the sale of arms to the Middle
East as a matter of principle, or are we objecting to this sale
because they're going to Iran and Syria?
MR. BOUCHER: In this case, we're asking that
Czechoslovakia not sell arms to Iran and Syria.
Q So that means that if they wanted to sell it to
somebody else who's not on the terrorist list, it's O.K.?
MR. BOUCHER: I can't give blanket approval like that
from this podium, Saul. I'm sure that any time we were asked
about our views of arms sales to particular countries, we would
provide them.
Q Well, the reason I ask that is because when we
made the suggestion to the Czechs a long time ago when Havel was
here, he was saying that they were going to end their arms
industry, if they could.
And we agreed with that and applauded that, and we said
that again the other day, and I'm now wondering -- because we
sell arms all over the world -- whether we're opposing the sale
of arms in general by Czechoslovakia or the sale of arms to Iran
and Syria. Apparently the latter.
MR. BOUCHER: In this case, we're objecting -- we don't
think it's a good idea to sell arms such as these to Iran and
Syria -- or arms to Iran and Syria. Let me not put a new
loophole in there.
The question of general arms sales is, of course, a
much broader question that we have views on as well that the
Secretary has discussed and others have as well.
Q But one final thing, have we also sent any word
through any third party to people who have been sending Scuds to
Syria? I don't recall that we did. I think we raised some
concern about it, but I'm not sure that we did.
MR. BOUCHER: I'd have to go back and see. That's been
discussed before. I just don't remember where we left it. I'll
have to check.
Q You said the U.S. would be glad to make its views
known when anybody asks about sales of arms. Did the Czech
government ask Ambassador Black yesterday in the meeting what
the U.S. view was of a potential sale, or did the United States
in March, April and then again yesterday raise this issue of its
own?
MR. BOUCHER: The issue of arms sales has been one of
discussion between us and the Czechs, going back to their
earlier decisions to restrict arms sales as much as they can.
So these more specific discussions grew out of that.
Q Did they take up the offer for U.S. experts on
converting arms factories into civilian factories?
MR. BOUCHER: We're in the process of making
arrangements with them for a Department of Defense led team on
defense conversion to visit Czechoslovakia this summer in order
to share expertise, but the arrangements haven't been finalized.
Q Richard, is this a kind of continuation or
expansion of Operation Staunch?
MR. BOUCHER: I really don't know if it's related to
that at all.
Q Will you take the question?
MR. BOUCHER: This has been related specifically to our
views of the advisability -- our views against selling arms to
Iran and Syria at this point.
Q Because this time you are putting Syria with Iran
together -- somehow. I don't know why.
MR. BOUCHER: As Margaret said the other day when she
explained it the first time, this is related to our view of
states that support terrorism.
Q A related question: Has Kimmitt raised the same
question with the Chinese, and do you have a readout on that or
response?
MR. BOUCHER: Kimmitt gave a press conference in
Beijing -- this morning Beijing time; last night our time -- and
we'll get you a transcript of that as soon as we have a complete
text.
Q Is the United States suggesting to the Chinese
government that the U.S. will be willing to continue
most-favored-nation status for another year?
MR. BOUCHER: I think I'd rather leave that to the
transcript of what Mr. Kimmitt said in Beijing.
Q Richard, do you have a readout on the meeting of
six Israeli members of the Parliament with Thomas Pickering, the
United Nations Ambassador yesterday?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I'm afraid I don't.
Q And are they going to be visiting here in
Washington at the State Department -- six members of the Israeli
opposition?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. You might check with the
Israeli Embassy on this schedule.
Q But they met with Mr. Pickering yesterday, and
they had some statements about that. Do you have any more
readouts?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll see if we can get you a readout.
[Bangladesh: US Relief Efforts]
Q Do you have anything new on Bangladesh today?
Yesterday, I believe you said that --
MR. BOUCHER: We were looking at some new aid.
Q -- there was lots of food there, but now there's
reports of four million at risk because of starvation.
MR. BOUCHER: What I said yesterday was that there were
some other requests, urgent additional assistance that was being
looked at. Today I can tell you that responding to a request
from the Government of Bangladesh, the Office of U.S. Foreign
Disaster Assistance is authorizing an additional
$5 million in direct grants to non-governmental organizations to
assist the cyclone victims in Bangladesh.
The funds will be used for procurement and distribution
of critically needed items such as oral rehydration salts, water
purification tablets, food, shelter materials and cooking
utensils, as well as for damage assessment and administrative
support.
In addition to these immediate needs, we are looking
into ways we can contribute to near-term reconstruction and
rehabilitation of the areas most affected. Our mission in
Bangladesh intends to reprogram an additional $2 million in
funds already in-country for the rehabilitation efforts.
We are also in the process of locating additional
disaster relief supplies that are positioned at U.S. Government
facilities around the world, including food and medicine.
Q What happened to the helicopters?
MR. BOUCHER: There have been some helicopters that
have arrived from sources closer to Bangladesh. Supplying
helicopters is an option that we are working on urgently, but
our main objective is to make the most constructive overall
contribution that we can.
Q Forgive me, Richard, how urgent is "urgent"? You
gave me that answer yesterday, and the Bangladeshis are still
saying that helicopters from the United States would be the
answer to getting stuff out there.
When you're looking at something urgently, surely 24
hours/36 hours, in a situation like this does make a critical
difference.
MR. BOUCHER: And we are making decisions. Twenty-four
hours ago I didn't have an additional $5 million from OFDA and
$2 million in-country that I was providing to the effort, and
today I do.
The substantial transportation assets do exist in the
country. There are boats that can be mobilized, and part of the
$5 million that I announced will be available for logistic
support to distribute the relief to the victims of the disaster
by truck and boat. So, again, going back to what I said, our
concern is to make the most constructive contribution that we
can overall.
Q Is there a fight between State and DoD on this,
mainly because DoD is telling the press and Bangladesh that they
would be willing to provide helicopters?
MR. BOUCHER: No.
Q Is there any -- I know the history of Pakistan and
Bangladesh is not a particularly joyful one, but they have lots
of military hardware that we helped give them. Do you know if
any help is coming from Pakistan in terms of helicopters? They
have lots of helicopters.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. You'd have to ask them.
[Lebanon: US Travel Warning; Taif Accords]
Q Richard, excuse me if you have been asked this
question before about the warning on Lebanon, the new one issued
on 26th of April. It looks to me at least paradoxical to the
developments inside Lebanon, because you know now the militias
are delivering their arms and all that. So it seems that the
government is more in control than before. So why the warning
anew?
MR. BOUCHER: The warning? What are you referring to?
Q There is a warning -- travel advisory warning on
Lebanon, extending the old one that was issued in, I think,
October 1990.
MR. BOUCHER: Yes. I think you'll see a paragraph at
the end that says that that updates some of the addresses. If I
remember, that's the only change in that. The situation that we
deal with in travel advisories is that based on our estimates of
the security situation there, and I don't think it needs much
thought to remind you that there are still Americans being held
hostage in Beirut.
Q On the same thing, do you have any comments on the
developments inside Lebanon, delivering of militias arms to the
government and all that?
MR. BOUCHER: The same comments as we made before: We
support the Taif Accords. We support the extension of the
legitimate authority of the Lebanese government.
[Yugoslavia: Civil Unrest]
Q Richard, do you have any reaction to the situation
in Yugoslavia?
MR. BOUCHER: We have spoken, I think, many times
before about the situation in Yugoslavia, and it's something
that we are following closely, and it has been of obvious
concern to us.
At the present day, I'm told that yesterday the
Yugoslav military announced that it was mobilizing certain units
and raising its state of alert, so that it could secure peace in
the event federal and republic organs fail to do so. The
military statement also asserted that Yugoslav as a society has
"embarked upon a civil war."
The Yugoslav military statement does fall short of a
declaration of martial law or a state of emergency, but it
implies that the military will seek wider authorities from the
Federal Presidency.
There's an expanded session of the Federal Presidency
that began this morning in Belgrade, involving both Federal and
Republic leaders, and this may be still underway even as we
speak.
As for the U.S. position, I believe it's pretty clear.
It's one that's shared by other countries, including the
European Community. We support a democratic, unified Yugoslavia
achieved through peaceful dialogue. We condemn the use of
violence as a means of achieving political goals or of
undermining the process of peaceful democratic dialogue.
As we've stated repeatedly, both publicly and in our
diplomatic exchanges in Yugoslavia, we are strongly opposed to
the use of force for intimidation or to block democratic change
or to impose a non-democratic system in Yugoslavia.
We are following the present situation closely. We
will take appropriate steps to underscore our support for the
rule of law, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and full
respect for human rights in a democratic, unified Yugoslavia as
well as our strong opposition to the use of force by any party.
Q Richard, if some of the Republics in Yugoslavia
democratically decide they don't want unity, does the United
States support democracy or unity?
MR. BOUCHER: We support a democratic, unified
Yugoslavia achieved through peaceful dialogue, and anything else
that you want to speculate on, I'll leave to you.
Q But it does seem an impossibility, though. What
will you settle for?
MR. BOUCHER: That's what's called a hypothetical --
(laughter) -- and I'm going to tell you --
Q (Multiple questions.)
Q Actually, a democratic, unified Yugoslavia may be
hypothetical.
Q Seriously, it's not hypothetical at all. They had
an election in Slovenia. They've had elections in Croatia. And
the people in those republics have expressed their wishes by
electing governments which are now committed to independence.
What's hypothetical about it?
MR. BOUCHER: The process has not brought us to that
point. We support a unified, democratic Yugoslavia.
Q Do you support peaceful negotiations between the
various republics of Yugoslavia to determine their own future?
MR. BOUCHER: That we support as well.
Q Even if that future should include a peaceful
division of the country?
MR. BOUCHER: We'll have to see what it leads to, Alan.
I'm not going to deal with a hypothetical at this point.
Q Do you support the army's characterization that
this country is now in civil war?
MR. BOUCHER: That's not something that I can really
characterize for you. We understand, as far as the situation on
the ground in Croatia, for example, that it's somewhat calmer
today, but that it still remains quite tense.
Q Richard, do you have any comment on the
independent British daily newspaper report of yesterday that
Palestinians in Kuwait are still subjected to torture and
beating despite the reports to the contrary?
MR. BOUCHER: That is something that we've spoken about
on many occasions. We've expressed our concerns. We've said
that such incidents are still being reported, although they are
contrary to government policy, and we've said that the
government has taken several positive and specific steps to try
to get the situation under control.
[Israel: Arab League Boycott]
Q Richard, do you have any more to say today than
you did yesterday about the Arab League action on the boycott?
There are some more details that have come out that make me
wonder whether you have more to say.
MR. BOUCHER: I addressed it yesterday at the briefing.
We also addressed it in an answer yesterday afternoon. I think
it was more extensive about some of the different views on the
boycott. I think what I have here is a summary, but I'd be glad
to give it to you.
We have certainly urged the Arab countries not to
comply with the boycott regulations. This has been a subject
raised by the Secretary on his recent trips to the region, but
we will not be highlighting evidence of non-compliance unless
the Arab countries themselves choose to do so. In our answer of
yesterday afternoon, we noted what Kuwaiti officials have said
on the subject. We hope and expect that we will see further
evidence that Arab governments see, as we do, that the boycott
has no place in a process of reconciliation and dialogue.
Q Do you want them to stand up and say, "We do not
support the boycott"? Is that what you're urging out of all of
that morass of words?
MR. BOUCHER: We have urged the countries not to comply
with the boycott, so we don't think --
Q You don't care whether they --
MR. BOUCHER: -- continuation is helpful.
Q I mean, wouldn't it be helpful to the cause that
the United States is campaigning for to have them stand up in
public and say, "We are not going to abide by the boycott, and
we think it's a bad idea for other countries to do so as well."
MR. BOUCHER: I'm sure that would be helpful, John, but
we're not going to try to offer details of individuals
countries' practices, unless they choose to do so themselves.
Q Richard, on a second look at that boycott issue,
it appears that what the Arab League did is take four major
American companies off the list, including Coca-Cola and Helene
Curtis. And of the 110 companies they put on the list, 104
belonged to Robert Maxwell.
I'm wondering if on a second look at that, you saw
something more positive in the Arab League announcement than was
first seen?
MR. BOUCHER: Saul, I really can't analyze the specific
steps of yesterday for you, or that we were talking about
yesterday. They've been reported, as you say, in different ways
by different analysts. I don't have an analysis of those
specific steps. What we are dealing with is our position on the
boycott in general and it's continuation.
Q Richard, you said you hope and expect that more
Arab governments, in addition to Egypt, will start seeing the
boycott issue the way the United States does. What leads you to
that expectation?
MR. BOUCHER: The point is that it's something that
we've been raising, that the Secretary has discussed, that we've
discussed consistently with other governments. We gave you a
rundown of the various positions that have been taken by some
governments on the boycott yesterday afternoon, and it is our
hope that those positions of non-compliance or changes in
compliance will be evidenced by other governments as well.
Q But you voice the expectation. What leads you to
that?
MR. BOUCHER: I would just have to go back to the sort
of evidence that we reported on yesterday afternoon.
Q Did the Secretary get any commitments or any
understandings during his recent trips?
MR. BOUCHER: That's not something I can tell you,
Mark. I don't know.
Q Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:22 p.m.)